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HonTour Qualifier: GJ12, QsQ and tdM still standing

Before the HonTour circuit goes into a little break with the DreamHack on the horizon, the last day before the break produced absolute thrillers regardless. First QsQ won against DoP, then the dominators of coL went down to their nemesis tdM, all followed by Gary Johnson 2012 reaching the Grand Final as the first team.

The whole spectacle started this afternoon with the postponed Upper Bracket Semifinal of Domain of Pain against QsQ. Unfortunately Domain of Pain couldn't present their full roster, with AngryTestie not playing in the series at all. Substitute CHEESEHELMET still performed really well against QsQ and later against compLexity Gaming, but in the end the challenges were to high for the newly assembled squad around legends like Brized, Fittske, Ensoe and Jeppins. That team still reached the Diamond Divsion and was placed in the Top Six of the tournament.

Top Six are QsQ 777 as well. Surprisingly the unknown team with players from Germany and Sweden played themselves into the highest division in the competition and went as far as being one of the six best teams in the whole tournament. Their miracle run ended in the Upper Bracket against DoP and was finally put to rest by Trademark eSports in the Lower Bracket.

So the matchups were all set - QsQ against Gary Johnson 2012 for a ticket in the Grand Final and Trademark eSports against compLexity Gaming for a spot on the podium and in the Consolation Final.

The upset of the day happened minutes before midnight, when compLexity Gaming, the most dominant squad in the last four month, had to admit defeat. For the first time in those four month the team around captain bkid had to suffer the agony of defeat in an official tournament with their main lineup. The only other defeat in that period of time came in the Vanguard Tournament, where the team used Tralfamadore as a ringer in absence of "Danish Dynamite" Haxxeren. Now the clock has been reseted and the competition on top of the world is wide open again - DreamHack will be very interesting.

What was most thrilling about the victory of Trademark eSports was not the fact, that they finally defeated compLexity in a meaningful match, but the way how they did it. In the absence of Mynuts, support player iNsania took over the role of captain and drafter and assembled a very unusual lineup in the last two games. Both matches he drafted a lineup most suited for the late great "Tank-Heal-Meta" with a lot of push power behind it. tdM was able to apply so much pressure that they flat out overwhelmed compLexity. Game Three saw a Base tower falling before the 15 minute mark.

Now the only open question of the night was which team would wait in the Grand Finale and which squad had to go through the Consolation Final. That question was answered loud and clear by GaryJohnson2012, who have been the strongest team in recent weeks. In unarguable fashion the squad around tactician Swindlemelonzz smacked QsQ down, gaining a huge momentum boost for DreamHack in a week.

GJ12 overpowered the team around four time DreamHack Champion NoVa and his team, conceding only 10 kills in both games combined. Gary Johnson is not only voicing their claim for HonTour very loud and clear, but also present a real alternative for a DreamHack Winter upset pick. The campaign is rolling and a victory in the "swing states" in Jönköping and the HonTour Grand Final is very possible.

The HonTour competition will continue tonight, when QsQ battles it out with Trademark eSports, while Gary Johnson patiently awaits the victor in the Grand Final for $2,000 USD and huge momentum spark towards DreamHack.